HYDERABAD: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy said Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had expressed willingness to hold talks anytime after October 23 on the proposed Tummidihatti barrage. He directed officials to prepare for the discussions, with Telangana seeking a barrage height of 152 metres to ensure adequate water diversion.
At a review meeting here on Friday, officials said a barrage at 152 metres would submerge about 2,300 acres, while a height of 150 metres would limit the submergence to less than 1,000 acres. They said the project would not submerge villages in Maharashtra.
Revanth noted that Maharashtra had earlier agreed to a height of 148 metres, but said this would not allow the required volume of water to be diverted. He asked irrigation officials to prepare detailed technical reports on water availability, the extent of submergence and the volume of water that could be diverted up to the Yellampalli project, to persuade Maharashtra to agree to the proposed height.
Officials were also asked to keep records of earlier meetings between the two states under the aegis of the Central Water Commission (CWC) ready and submit the information sought by the commission.
The barrage is intended to provide irrigation to two lakh acres in the undivided Adilabad district, which has a large tribal population and extensive forest cover. Revanth said the project could help address the district’s long-standing irrigation needs.
He directed engineers to work on the route design for carrying water from Tummidihatti to Yellampalli and take up land acquisition once the barrage height was finalised.
The meeting also reviewed the Dindi and Achampet lift irrigation projects. Revanth directed officials to make arrangements to lift 0.5 tmcft of water for Dindi and 0.1 tmcft for Achampet from the Srisailam reservoir through the Narlapur-Yedula system, without affecting allocations for the Palamuru project. Officials presented a comparison of the costs and advantages of sourcing water for Dindi from Narlapur and Yedula.
Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka, Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy, Ministers Jupally Krishna Rao and Duddilla Sridhar Babu, Rajya Sabha member Vem Narender Reddy and senior irrigation officials attended the meeting.